Will Durban make Commonwealth Games deadline?

The City has until Wednesday to raise millions of rands to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The announcement that Durban is to host 2022 Commonwealth Games.

ETHEKWINI Municipality has until Wednesday, 30 November to secure funding and meet deadlines set by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) to allow the city’s bid for the international tournament to go ahead.

According to recent media reports, The Durban Commonwealth Games 2022 bid committee is required to raise the R6.3 billion in guarantees required by the CGF for the bid to be confirmed.

Members of the team responsible for the Durban bid attended a meeting in London earlier this month to report on the preparations and the financial guarantees for Durban to host the Games. It is reported that the Federation raised concerns about Durban’s failure to appoint a local organising committee and change the content of the bid since the time of the award.

The CGF will be considering the submissions and will make a final recommendation in the new year on Durban’s ability to host the Games.

DA Whip for Human Settlements and Infrastructure and ward 27 councillor, Martin Meyer, said he was not at all surprised that the city found itself in this position. He said when the matter first came before council, the DA has opposed the hosting of the games as it was felt there were a lot of more urgent matters that needed financial attention.

“We are behind in providing housing, our infrastructure is crumbling, and the city is struggling to meet all its obligations. When it became clear that the city was going to bid and host the Games, the DA asked for guarantees that t National and Provincial government would carry part of the cost. The then Mayor kept assuring us that they would pay, but all our requests for this in writing from the other spheres of government have proved fruitless,” said Meyer.

He said earlier this year the DA realised there were problems when the MEC for Finance indicated that she did not budget for the Games as the province did not have the money. Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan also did not mention the Games in his budget.

“We again approached the Mayor with our concerns, but no information was forthcoming. And here we are now. The city scrambling to pay this money, and it seems that the ANC is determined to bankrupt the city for Games that there is no guarantee will benefit the city. I maintain that we cannot afford to host the Games, and in this time of austerity, the city has far greater obligations than the Games. I hope that new Mayor Gumede will see the light and lead us out of this fiasco,” he said.

Berea Mail has received no response from the Municipality for comment on this story.